


For Closure

by JJmadchillin



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Closure Tattoos, Sorta one sided Jonmartin but it's only mentioned in passing, Tattoos, and you gotta squint to find it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:42:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26945386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JJmadchillin/pseuds/JJmadchillin
Summary: Jon needs closureMartin offers itAlthough not in the way you'd expect
Relationships: No Romantic Relationship(s)
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> First fic, so I'm sorry if it sucks

Its been a week.

Its been a week since Jon woke up.

Its been a week since Jon found out Tim may be dead.

Its been a week; and Jon is struggling. He is struggling with the fact that Tim is gone, and he believes he caused it. He was released from hospital two days ago, and began burying himself in his work. It’s all he can do now. He can’t go home—too many memories—and he can’t talk to anyone because he just gets the stock standard response of “It wasn’t your fault” or “he wouldn’t want you to grieve him.”

Jon wants to believe them. He really does. But when every other ounce of your being is screaming that it was your fault, you forget that people care about you.

So, he buries himself in statements until he can’t take a free breath.

However, today that changes.

★‡~~•√•~~‡★

Martin walks through the door branded with “Head Archivist” and in on Jon reading a statement. All that is to be heard is static. Martin places the tea on Jon’s desk, steeped for a bit too long, just to Jon’s liking. As he turns to leave, Jon awakes from his stupor, before turning off the tape recorder.

“Thank you for the tea, Martin.”

“You’re more than welcome, Jon”

A beat passes before Martin speaks again.

“Jon, you need to stop sometimes.”

“What do you mean? I’m fine.”

“You haven’t gone home since you came to work after the hospital. Against my advice, may I add.”

“I- Martin, I can’t go back home.”

“What is stopping you?”

“The memories. All the memories that sit there in my apartment. I can’t go home because it hurts too much. It’s too much, Martin.”

Martin stops to think about this. He knows how it feels to have to back to the pain. To the root of all your troubles. Hell, he does it weekly, visiting his mother in that god forsaken home.

But then he remembers what he did with that pain. Neither of them realises a new tape recorder click on.

“Jon, I have an idea that may help you.”

“Martin, please. I don’t have time for one of your fix-it ideas that don’t work. I have to get back to the statements.”

“This isn’t a ‘Fix-It Idea That Won’t Work’. This is something that really helped me when I was in your shoes.”

“You know what? Fine. Tell me this idea then.”

“You get a tattoo.”

“What?! Martin that’s absurd!”

“How? I’ve got one, and it helped quite a bit.”

“Wait, you have a tattoo?”

“Yes Jon, I do, in fact, have a tattoo. I thought I established that. It’s on my thigh.”

“what is it?”

“A bouquet of daffodils.”

(Authors Note to the reader: I chose a daffodil because a daffodil symbolises Rebirth, New Beginnings and Unrequited Love)

“Thats-... Why a daffodil?”

“It’s symbolic of my pain. With my mother, she was manipulative and mentally abusive. But I still cared for her. And I needed to learn to grow. To start over. And a daffodil symbolises that. My struggle.”

“Wow, thats... Wow.”

“Yeah, it helped. It sort of turns all that mental pain into something more physical, if that makes any sense?”

“No, Martin, it makes perfect sense. I’m just still reeling over the fact that someone would do that to you.”

“It’s a lot to take in I know.”

“It is.”

“So, Jon, are you going to get one?”

“Yes, I think I will.”

“Okay then, I’ll take you to where I got mine done after work.”


	2. The Tattoo Shop

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tattoo time

At 5pm, Martin walks into Jon's office, only to hear static once again. He decides to sit in until Jon has finished the statements, as it seems like he is not in the real world right now. 

It doesn't take Jon long to finish the statements, only about 5 minutes. 

Martin watches him jump as he looks up to see Martin dressed in what seems to be casual clothes. A simple tee shirt and jeans. Its a stark contrast to Jon's Khakis, long sleeved button down, sweater vest and tie. 

"You ready to go, Jon?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

Although Jon's voice is uncertain, his brown eyes—still slightly green from reading—show he is determined to get this tattoo.

★‡~~•√•~~‡★

On the walk to the tattoo shop, Jon thinks about what he is going to get. His mind races through ideas. But none of them have a real _meaning_ to him.

Upon nearing the tattoo shop, he decides to ask Martin for help.

"I think it would be better for you to get something with a more deliberate meaning, instead of something that takes thinking about like I did. It would want to be something that meant something to both of you. What did you both have in common?"

"Fire. And scars."

"Anything else? A bit more delicate?"

"The piano. We both played occasionally."

"Well then, how about a burning piano around some of your scars?"

"That would be a great idea actually."

They fall into a comfortable silence, walking side by side. Martin stops to admire a plant on the roadside, while Jon ends up stopping in at a shop to get some deodorant and candles for in his apartment. He knows he not going to go back immediately, but he wants to go home soon. The deodorant was because Martin made him buy it, saying "Jon, you reek of sweat, you need it." 

The tattoo shop isn't that impressive from the outside, nothing but blacked out windows, a sign reading 'open' on the door and the name "Fineliners Tattoos" across the overhang. 

However the inside looks very well maintained, a quiet _buzz_ echoing around the small space. They are greeted by a person who looks to be in their early 30s. Martin seems to know them.

"Martin! What are you doing back here, I though you were done after 5!"

"Hello to you too, Artemis. And I'm not here for me this time, Jon is getting one."

"Oh so you must be Jon, its Lovely to meet you finally, I'm Artemis." 

"Hello Artemis, it's nice to meet you too. Sorry if it's an invasive question, but what are your pronouns?"

"Never apologize for asking someones pronouns, and I use They/Them pronouns. Anyway, what are you getting done today. And don't worry, ill be doing yours, your in safe hands, I did all Martins tattoos."

"Wait did you say _Tattoos,_ as in plural? More than one?"

"Yes Jon, I have 5." Martin answers.

"How come you didn't tell me?"

"You never asked."

"Okay Okay Girls, you're both pretty." Artemis interjects. "Now, what are you getting today?"

"I want a burning piano on one of my scars on my arm."

"Ah so we're going that way. I can do that for you."

★‡~~•√•~~‡★

The tattoo hurt, more than Jon expected, but it helped. Quite a bit. It distracted him from everything. 

And he found himself getting more as time went on. They started small, nothing more than a 2-3 hour session, until getting bigger and bigger, adding to his sleeve. The largest one he got was two 6 hour sessions, each about a year apart. 

They became his comfort. His entire life on his arm. He knew he would never forget where he came from now, both the good and the bad.

And it all started from that first tattoo he got;

For Closure


End file.
